XP tip-5

Windows XP may encounter a problem during startup that results in a STOP error message. Depending on the system configuration, the error message on a blue screen may not be displayed long enough to record the error information. To gather important information about the STOP error message and to verify the cause:

Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. On the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery.
Click to clear the Automatically restart check box under System failure, and then click OK. The error message on a blue screen should remain on the screen so you can record the error information.
Instantly Reboot Upon a System Fault
Start/Run/Regedit. Navigate to...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl

In the right pane choose AutoReboot/Right Click/Modify. Change value to 0 to disable and 1 to enable.
Windows Hangs While Saving Your Settings
When you shut down your computer, Microsoft Windows XP may stop responding (hang) while the following message is displayed: Saving your settings. When this occurs, you may be able to move the mouse pointer, but when you press CTRL+ALT+DEL, nothing happens. This issue may occur only occasionally. Supported Fix: "Restarting Windows XP".
Modify Hung App Time
Start/Run/Regedit. Navigate to...
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

In the right pane, choose HungAppTimeout/Right Click/Modify/Change Value/Exit/Reboot.
Force Program Exit

Start/Run/Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop In the right pane find, "AutoEndTasks" (Create if not present). Set the Value of 0 or delete it. No reboot needed.
Disable Error Reporting

Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/Advanced/Error Reporting/Disable.